Too Many Choices, Not Enough Ways to Escape
by DramaCat16
Summary: My first fanfic, so R&R! Takes place after Plum Lovin'. Stephanie can't make a decision so she chooses to escape. Where will she go? Who will she meet? What will the men in her life do? Read and find out!
1. Chapter 1

**Too Many Choices, Not Enough Ways to Escape**

By: Dramacat16

**Disclaimers: **All rights go to the one and only Janet Evanovich. I'm just 'borrowing' her characters for some hours of entertainment.

**Spoilers: **Takes place after Plum Lovin' (which takes place after Twelve Sharp)

**Warnings: **Rating may change, if they do I'll post a little diddy about it. Also, this is my first fanfic- so please REVIEW, REVIEW, REVIEW!!

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_The first box held a single perfect long-stemmed red rose. No card._

_The second box held a dozen yellow roses. The message on the card was… LOVE, JOE._

_The third box held a bouquet of daisies. The hand scrawled not said… VALENTINE'S DAY SUCKS, USUALLY._

_Valentine's Day didn't suck this year, I thought._

_I felt someone brush a kiss across the nape of my neck, and I turned to Diesel, but the only thing behind me was the cake sitting on the bottom step._

Chapter 1:

Okay, here's the thing. I can't make a choice for my life. I can't even pick out which Tastykake I want, for the love of god. And there was no way I could pick between the two men I lusted after- Joe Morelli and Ricardo Carlos Manoso. Better known by his street name- Ranger. Actually, not all the long ago, it came perfectly clear to me that I loved both of them. I was sitting in my living room and a guy that thought he was Ranger had the real Ranger's daughter, Julie, at gun point. Then I heard my lock tumble. Mr. Fake Ranger told me he would shoot Julie if I warned the person that he was there. I knew it had to be either Ranger of Morelli. And then Ranger entered and got shot. And then that sent me into a panic attack. I mean, I completely lost it.

So, now to my current predicament. I was staring into my closet looking between two things hanging up. And no, they weren't any sort of clothing. The single red rose and one of the yellow roses were hanging upside down. I was going to dry them out and save them. They would be a constant reminder of the two men in my life. Okay, I had also received a bouquet of daisies for Valentine's Day but I sort of let them wilt away and die. Truth be told, Diesel wasn't one the men in my life. I couldn't do the whole supernatural crap. Then again, for all I know, Ranger might be supernatural…

I had no clue what the flowers were going to do, but it seemed like a good idea at the time. It wasn't going all that well so far. Every time I opened my closest, I saw the damn flowers and started thinking about Ranger and Morelli. I loved both of them, and both of them loved me…in their own way. Morelli either wanted to strangle me or marry me, and Ranger- well let's not go there.

Right now I was sitting on the edge of my bed, staring at the two flowers. And then it hit me, I swear it was like I had an epiphany or something. It was probably an idea that would come back to haunt me, but that didn't phase the woman who acted on her compulsions. So what did I do? I called the two alpha males to come to by apartment to 'talk'. At the same time. The same time being right now.

Chapter 2:

I was about to press the little green button on my cell phone to call Ranger when the phone started ringing. I looked at the caller ID and smiled. It was Ranger.

"Yo," I said, my tone completely mocking.

"Babe." I rolled my eyes. Man of mystery, specialist in the mono-syllable.

"I was just about to call you. What's up on your end?"

"Before I left I told you we needed to talk when I came back. I'm back, time to talk."

"Wow we're on the same guidelines. When will you get here?"

"In half an hour." And he hung up. One of these days I really need to learn to hang up first. Of course, last time I did that, he called back just to say never hang up on him and then _he_ hung up.

I dialed Morelli on his cell and asked if he could come over in 30 minutes. He said he'd come but wouldn't be able to stay long. Something about a big gang shootout that was suppose to go down later in the afternoon.

I got everything ready and then started on my make-up. You can always tell if I have something worrying me by how much eye make-up I had on. Today it wasn't really that anything was worrying me, but more that it was going to be hard for me to do. I had a shitload of blue eye shadow on and about three layers of mascara. My shoulder length brown hair was in soft curls and my blue eyes were focused and alert. The ten galleons of coffee probably helped with this.

I walked out of the bathroom just in time to watch Joe walk in. He gave me a weary smile, gentle kiss, and sat down on the couch. I waited in the kitchen until I heard my lock tumble a couple minutes later. I looked over towards the living room, and I saw Joe's eyes harden slightly. I gave him a slight nod and turned to Ranger. I simply pointed to the living room and waited. His mouth tightened, apparently not a lot of people told Ranger what to do, but he went without problems. I followed them and took a deep breath. This would probably be the toughest challenge yet in my life. They looked at me, waiting. It was obviously that they were semi-anxious, patience wasn't high on their list of virtues.

"Okay I have something to say to you two. I love both of you. I love you and can't decide between either or you. So I'm going to cut both of you out of my life for a while." I looked between them and gave a small nod. "And I'd appreciate it if you cooperate and not come after me."

Before they could say anything I was out the door with my purse and suitcase. I had no clue what I was doing but I needed to act fast. I needed to get out of New Jersey before either of them stopped me. I knew they would eventually find me, but you can't stop a girl from trying.

Chapter 3:

I pulled into the bail bonds agency and parked in the back. I ran in and was relieved to see Connie and Lula.

"Lula, I need a ride to the airport. Connie, I need a fake passport. How fast can you get it to me?"

They looked up a little startled. They saw my flushed appearance and Connie started typing something into the computer.

"The fake passport can be ready in two hours. Do you want to be Shirly Faux or Robin Barq?"

"Robin. When I arrive to where I'm going, I'll send you guys a letter. I'm going to run to my bank and empty my account. I should be good for a while with that."

"What's going on?" Lula took this time to chip in. I knew I had to leave bits and pieces out because of her relationship with Tank.

"Taking a vacation and I can't afford to be followed." Lula and Connie exchanged glances and nodded. I gave a sigh of relief, they knew what was going on. They were going to be cooperative.

"Thanks you guys, I appreciate it. And can I borrow your car, Connie, everyone knows mine and Lula's…sticks out."

Connie nodded and passed me the keys. I rushed out the doorway and heard them started whispering behind me. I didn't really care if they thought I was going insane or not, didn't matter as long as they didn't call Ranger or Morelli.

I hopped into the tan sedan. It was the perfect car to blend in at a bank parking lot. I saw my cousin and hurried over to her. It was nice to have connections, wasn't it? Definitely a benefit to being born in the Burg- umbilical cords didn't allow children to go far and families stayed close.

I returned to the office after making a pit-stop at Dunkin' Doughnuts. Connie passed me a file and a blonde wig. I quirked my eyebrow and she shrugged.

"Sorry, but it goes with the part. I had to get this done quick and didn't have time to change the hair color. It's just for the plane ride."

I gave them each a hug and smiled. "I don't know when I'll be back. I'll write to you guys when I can, but you can't tell _anybody _where I am." I grabbed Lula's arm and pulled her towards the door.

"We're gonna take your car again and Lula will drive it back. Thanks again you guys, you're great."


	2. Chapter 2

_**See spoilers and disclaimers from the first chapter. Good amount of swearing in this chapter though**_

I watched Lula leave the airport and I suddenly felt very alone. I had no direction, no clue what to do. All I knew was that I was leaving the only place I'd ever called home.

My blue eyes bore into the huge screen that listed all the flight information. They locked onto a flight that was going to be leaving in forty-five minutes. It was absolutely perfect timing. I would get my ticket, check my luggage, and then I'd be off. And I wouldn't even have to use the fake passport.

"Ladies and gentleman, please fasten your seatbelts. We are going to start our decent soon. We're scheduled to arrive in Hawaii in half an hour."

I jolted awake at the sound of the flight attendant. I rooted around my purse until I found a piece of gum. It's a good thing I have such a big mouth because otherwise I wouldn't be able to chew as fast when we starting going down. I hated when my ears popped. This meant a lot of chewing whenever I got on an airplane.

As soon as I felt my stomach start to drop, I started chewing. I closed my eyes as prayed that my ears wouldn't pop. When they did, I couldn't hear correctly for hours. And I needed to be aware of my surroundings while I was here. I let out the breath I didn't know I was holding when I felt the plane land. I looked out the window and smiled. The palm trees were swaying and welcoming me from the snow-ridden street of New Jersey.

'Here ya go, Stephanie. Time for a new chapter in your life,' I thought to myself as I exited the plane.

_One month later…_

I brushed the non-existent bead of sweat from my forehead. It was now just about April and it was friggin' hot in Hawaii. I had been working at a Tiki Stand type thing for three weeks now. It turns out jobs were hard to come by in Hawaii. Well at least nobody had heard about my slight "mishaps" with cars. It was right on one of the most popular beaches, and thanks to my Jersey girl knowledge and distraction outfits, I made a lot of money in tips. Okay I didn't actually use my distraction outfits, seeing as there each have about one inch of fabric for my whole body, but you get the idea. Plus, I got health benefits.

I was scanning the beach when I froze. Staring right at me was an all too familiar face. It was one of the Slayers.

"Shit! Shit, shit, shit."

This earned me I glare from a potential customer, but I ignored him. I couldn't draw attention to myself. I saw him walking towards me and panicked. I couldn't remember his name, but I had thrown him off the roof of my car once, so I was pretty sure we weren't on good terms. I threw up the 'be back in half an hour'. I didn't bother looking back as I ran out of there. This could not be happening to me. I mean, what was a slayer doing in Hawaii? There were no gangs in Hawaii, I was almost sure of it.

As soon as I got into the apartment I had been renting I gave a sigh of relief. He hadn't followed me and I sure wasn't going back to work today. I pulled out my cell phone and called my manager. No answer. My watch told me I had already been gone for fifteen minutes. Once another fifteen minutes went by I called again. No answer- crap. That meant I had to call the owner. And from what I had been told, she was one scary broad. Of course, you can't believe everything you hear. I'm living proof of that. Taking a deep breath, I dialed.

"Hello, how may I help you?"

"Is this the owner of The Sunshine Hut?" I heard my tentative voice break the silence after a bold voice had answered. My voice was shy and soft where hers was loud, confident, and bold. Great first impression already.

"Yes."

"My name is Stephanie Plum and I work for you. I had to leave early due to…" Crap Stephanie, how are you going to explain this one? I once was a bounty hunter and accidentally flung a guy off the roof of my car and now he may want to kill me? Probably it should be a bit… more subtle than that. "…a personal dilemma."

"I see. Very well, I'll send someone to take care of the hut. I would like to see you here first thing tomorrow morning though." I thought about that for a moment. Problem was, I had no clue where she was talking about.

"And exactly where would 'here' be?"

She gave me the address and hung up. I felt a sense of nostalgia for Ranger when she hung up without saying bye. And that was followed by nostalgia for Morelli because I felt guilty that I was feeling nostalgic for Ranger. God, is my life confusing. I guess today would be a good day to drive across the island to the secure phone line. This meant I could call whoever I wanted and nobody could trace me.

"Yo." I couldn't help the smile that seeped onto my face at the sound of his voice. It was alert and focused, as always. I hadn't called him yet since I left. Oh, this was bound to go so well.

"Hey, Ranger."

"Babe?"

"Uh huh." I heard him typing into his computer and I laughed. "Don't waste your time, I'm on a secure line." I could almost feel him reigning in his anger and his emotions. When he answered, I could hear the fake ease in his voice. The calm before the storm.

"Where the hell are you?"

"But that would ruin the surprise!"

"Babe…" Okay, now I was trying his patience. Probably good time to get off the phone before he found some way to strangle a million miles away.

"Tell Joe and my family that I'm fine and that I'll call them in a couple days. Thanks." And then I hung up on him and stuck my tongue out at the phone. Take that Batman.

I returned to my apartment and flung myself on the bed. I had only called one person on my list of a million. Well, at least it was a start. I was about to drift into a land full of Tastykakes and Upside-down Cake (apparently Hawaii isn't on the Tastykake shipping list, I was going nuts) when it came to be. His name was Eugene Brown. Now I just had to figure out what the hell he was doing in Hawaii…

((Please review!! Tell me if you think if I should continue or give up. Love to hear you opinions!))


	3. Chapter 3

((This chapters a bit of fluff, but I promise it will get better! Just stick with me and don't forget to tell me what you think at the end! And thanks to Catherine for helping me out with my story and ideas.))

I hate first meetings, especially with a boss of sorts. And I couldn't afford to lose my job, so my first impression had to be at the top of its game. It was seven in the morning, and because I'm me, my hair looked like it was the beginning of World War Three. After another thirty minutes I had it so it was good enough to not make the people scream in fright, but bad enough that when I walked out into the humidity, you wouldn't be able to see much of a difference.

At eight I was done with my make-up and out the house. I looked over the address and immediately realized that it was in a 'well-off' neighborhood. Obviously I didn't know just how 'well-off' the area was because I found my mouth hanging wide open when I entered the gated community. I was surrounded my mansions, each of them the size of

Miami. Guess I know why they could afford to give me health benefits…

I pulled into the parking lot and took a deep breath. Time to meet the woman that many people feared. Then again, I certainly am not most people. The door was opened by a maid, who ushered me into a sitting room. I looked down at my clothes and sighed. I was definitely under-dressed with a denim skirt and flimsy shirt. And I was in flats- this house was definitely high heels material. I stood up again when I heard someone entering. I felt like I waiting for the President to enter. And with my luck, it was probably someone with even higher standing then the President.

The lady entered, who just happened to be right around my age, and gave me a small (so small, that it was almost imperceptible) nod. She was very, very tan and had womanly curves that I would never be able to achieve in my lifetime. She was modestly pretty, wearing minimal make-up and an elegant sundress. I had never seen anyone who could make a simple sundress look elegant. I looked again at my appearance and shook my

head- so much for a lasting first impression. Compared to her I looked like a cheap souvenir from a carnival. I extended my hand, and went for the 'friendly-professional' route.

"Hello Stephanie, my name is Celia Somano, put just call me Celia. This is a routinely

check that I usually do with all my employees to go over their credentials, resumes, and what not."

She motioned for me to sit. I watched her open a folder on the coffee table which had my name on it. She stared down at it for a minute or so and I took the time to gather my thoughts. I was no glad I had left some parts out of my resume. Like the fact that I worked at Rangeman for a while. I'm not sure why, I would like to think my spidey-senses were tingling, but the Merry Men always called it my womanly intuition. Whatever it was, it was giving me an alert message. Probably would be a good idea to

be more aware of my surroundings… Maybe something Ranger said would actually stick now. Then again, I would most likely have to be kidnapped another twenty times for it to permanently stick…She looked up at me, her dark brown eyes filled with amused curiosity.

"You were a bounty hunter?" I nodded, not trusting myself to speak. And to my amazement, she gave a short burst of silky laughter. I wasn't sure if she was laughing at me or just in general, so I didn't relax. "Forgive me, it's just too perfect. Anyways, I noticed you've worked in the food industry before. What were your reasons for leaving?"

I'm pretty sure I open-closed my mouth several times, probably doing a pretty good fish impersonation. I had worked in Cluck-In-A-Bucket for a total of one day. And then, the place exploded, and it was. NOT. My. Fault! After a moment I recovered from my flashback, and answered. "I decided the job wasn't for me." Celia looked at me for a moment and nodded.

"And is this the job for you?"

"For the time being. It's a great job, but I can't see myself working at the Sunshine Hut for the rest of my life."

Celia nodded again, and looked over my papers. She gave a small smile and closed the folder. I was about to give a sigh of relief, but I found out that the interview wasn't over yet. "May I ask what brought you to Hawaii?" Her eyes sparkled and I decided to tell the truth. Well, a portion of the truth anyways.

"Couldn't make a decision. There was one guy who always represented a comfort,

that I've known forever. It was an on-and-off again relationship and he always wanted to change me. I was suppose to quit my job and be a house wife. And pop out a bunch of children." I rolled my eyes and Celia smiled. Something about her made me want to pour my soul out to her. I guess she was extremely easy to talk to.

"And the other guy was my friend and was mentor. He was a cross between Batman and Rambo. But his life 'doesn't lend to relationships'. Whatever the hell that means." I wasn't sure how else to explain Ranger. Ranger was Ranger, now way else to describe him. To put his persona into words wouldn't come close to the real thing… it would almost 'belittle' him. She nodded thoughtfully. I personally didn't know why other people were frightened by her. She seemed nice enough to me.

"I see. Needed some thinking time?" I nodded. "Thank you for your time; you have the rest of the day off. I may call you back in a week or so though." She reached out her hand and I shook it. "Nice to meet you, have a nice day."

And then she was gone, her heels not even making a clinking sound on the hardwood floors. I shook my head and left. Since I had the day off, I drove my car to a place that offered my comfort if there were no doughnuts. Yes, shoe shopping at Macy's.


End file.
